fol.  //.  No,  30.] 


April  22,  1877, 


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XXX. 


OBEDIENCE,  THE  LAW  OF  THE  WILL. 


'  • 

James  i:  22  :  “  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word^  and  not  hearers  only^  deceiving  your 
9wn  selves,''^ 

The  general  obligation  of  obedience  is  here  stated  with  great  emphasis. 
Indeed,  the  very  design  of  Jam^s  in  this  epistle,  is  to  set  forth  what  may 
be  termed  the  doctrine  oi  practice.  Paul,  for  "example,  elaborates  the 
principles  upon  which  the  gospel  rests,  with  only  an  incidental  and  inferen¬ 
tial  application  of  these  to  the  conscience.  James,  on  the  contrary,  gives 
himself  with^'a  blunt  directness  to  the  assertion  of  these  principles  as  the 
necessary  elements  of  the  Christian  life.  There  is  no  contradiction  between 
the  two,  as  some  have  supposed.  It  is  the  same  gospel  in  both,  approached 
from  different  sides.  Paul’s  distinctive  business  is  with  grace  as  it  lies  in 
the  doctrine;  James’  particular  concern  is  with  grace  as  it  lies  in  the 
experience.  Paul  is  the  theologian,  James  is  the  casuist.  Paul  constructs 
the  science,  James  points  out  its  uses.  Yet  they  both  cross  the  separating 
line  enough  to  show  that  they  are  entirely  at  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  Paul, 
in  the  sweep  of  his  argument,  will  sometimes  gather  up  the  doctrine  and  hurl 
it  upon  the  conscience  with  a  directness  and  vigor  which  James  could  not 
hope  to  surpass.  '  Again,  James  will  pause  in  his  exhortation  to  lay  the 
basis  of  doctrine,  with  a  precision  not  inferior  to  that  of  Paul. 

A  fine  illustration  is  afforded  in  the  context.  “  Every  good  gift  and 
every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of 
lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning.  Of  His 
own  will  begat  He  us  with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of 
first-fruits  of  His  creatures.”  (vv.  17,  18).  Could  Paul  himself  state 
more  explicitly  the  sovereignty  of  Divine  grace,  or  the  necessity  of  the 
new  birth  in  order  to  salvation  ?  Yet  see  how  the  practical  James  fences 
both  against  Antinomian  perversion  :  “  but  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and 
not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your  own  selves.  For  if  any  |;be  a  hearer  of 
the  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like  unto  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face 
in  a  glass  :  for  he  beholdeth  himself,  and  goeth  his  way,  and  straightway 


Ti  35338 


344 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22, 


forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  But  whosoever  looketh  into  the 
perfect  law  of  liberty,  and  continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful 
hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed.” 
(vv.  22-25.)  Here  then  James  lays  his  doctrine  of  practice  side  by  side 
with  Paul’s  doctrine  of  faith :  “  and  the  reconciliation  between  the  two  is 
given  by  Paul  himself,  when  he  defines  the  faith  by  which  we  are  justified 
as  the  faith  which  worketh  by  love.”  (G-al.  v:  6).  Nay,  it  is  anticipated 
in  the  Grospels,  in  that  striking  phrase  so  often  employed,  “  doing  the 
truth.”  (John  iii:  21  ;  1  John  i:  6).  ^ 

By  this  exposition,  I  am  led  directly  to  the  last  topic  in  this  series  of 
Discourses,  to-wit:  Obedience  as  the  Law  op  the  Will,* the  definite 
form  in  which  its  energy  shall  be  expressed. 

I.  The  path  will  be  opened  into  this  discussion  by  dwelling  a  little 
upon  THE  ESSENTIAL  ACTIVITY  OP  man’s  NATURE  ;  the  Consideration  of 
which  is  necessary  to  complete  the  view  taken  in  the  preceding  Discourses. 
The  survey  of  all  the  powers  with  which  man  is  endowed,  compels  the 
conclusion  that  Grod  designed  him  for  action. 

1.  This  will  appear,  in  the  first  place,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  soul. 
We  know  nothing  either  of  matter  or  spirit,  save  from  their  properties: 
and  perhaps  the  fundamental  characteristic  of  the  latter  is  that  of  self- 
action.  Matter  is  inert,  and  is  moved  upon  from  without.  True,  God 
has  displayed  His  wisdom  and  power  by  imprisoning  within  it  certain 
forces  ;  but  these  are  held  in  equilibrium,  so  as  to  be  in  a  state  cf  repose. 
It  is  not  until  you  disturb  this  balance  by  the  intrusion  of  a  foreign 
influence,  that  you  witness  the  peculiar  behavior  in  the  properties  of  mat¬ 
ter  which  it  is  the  ofiice  of  science  to  disclose.  The  calmness  of  this 
sabbath  morn,  for  example,  arises  from  the  antagonism  of  forces  which 
are  quiescent  simply  because  they  are  neutralized.  Let  this  equilibrium 
be  disturbed  but  for  an  instant,  and  the  tornado,  which  but  a  few  days  since 
swept  over  a  neighboring  town,  unroofs  our  dwellings  and  levels  them  to 
the  ground. 

But  when  you  turn  from  matter  to  spirit,  you  observe  not  only  that  it 
is  possessed  of  amazing  energies,  but  that  the  development  of  these  is 
spontaneous.  It  moves  forward  by  an  action  from  within  itself,  and  with 
a  consciousness  of  its  own  freedom  and  power.  Indeed  the  contrast 
between  the  two  is  presented  in  our  complex  organization.  For  when  the 
body  sleeps,  the  dreams  which  we  indulge  prove  the  mind  to  be  still  in 
action.  Through  the  locking  up  of  the  senses,  the  spirit’s  communication 
with  the  outward  world  may  be  cut  off ;  but  the  ceaseless  activity  of  mind 


1877.] 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


345 


is  shown  through  those  mental  processes  which  even  sleep  cannot  interrupt, 
and  which  are  sometimes  as  vivid  as  the  thoughts  by  day.  As  soon  there¬ 
fore  as  you  touch  the  spiritual  part  of  man’s  nature,  you  find  that  which 
is  essentially  active,  and  which  is  always  conscious  of  the  spontaneity  of 
its  own  movement.  When  we  rise  above  man  to  beings  who  are  still  more 
spiritual,  we  discover  an  activity  more  conspicuous,  because  unembarrassed 
by  the  flesh  ;  “  who  maketh  His  angels  spirits,  and  His  ministers  a  flame  of 
fire.”  (Heb.  i;  7.)  We  ascend  at  length  to  Him  who  is  “before  all 
things  and  by  whom  all  things  consist and  postulate  a  God  who  neither 
slumbers  nor  sleeps,  whose  essential  life  is  the  source  of  all  activity  in 
Himself  and  in  the  creature.  You  remember  that  word  of  Christ  in 
which  there  is  so  much  of  quiet  majesty,  “  m}’  Father  worketh  hitherto, 
and  I  work;”  (John  v:  17),  in  which  He  puts  Himself  upon  the  plane  of 
equality  with  the  Father,  and  afiirms  His  absolute  divinity.  But  the  point 
of  comparison  is  that  necessary  activity  which,  in  the  highest  sense,  is  the 
attribute  of  Him  who  is  the  Supreme  Spirit:  “  God  is  a  Spirit ;  and  they 
that  worship  Him  must  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth.”  (John  iv:  24.) 
Just  so  far  then  as  man  gives  evidence  of  a  soul,  do  you  find  that  God 
from  the  beginning  intended  him  to  be  a  creature  of  action. 

2.  This  is  further  shown  from  the  tendency  in  thought  and  feeling  to 
concrete  into  the  external  act,  which  is  the  natural  product  of  both.  Here 
is  man  endowed  with  the  faculty  to  know,  placed  in  a  world  whose  startling 
phenomena  like  shocks  from  a  Leyden  jar  rouse  the  dormant  mind  to 
vigorous  exercise.  Thoughts  multiply  with  a  fecundity  which  would  be 
oppressive,  were  it  not  for  the  marvellous  facility  of  framing  themselves 
into  propositions  and  judgments — thus  condensing  into  knowledge,  the 
mind’s  furniture  forever.  The  intellectual  machinery  once  set  in  motion 
can  be  arrested  by  no  earthly  power,  and  the  activities  of  the  day  are 
reproduced  in  the  illusions  of  sleep  by  night.  But  we  scarcely  begin  to 
wonder  at  this  productiveness  of  thought,  before  we  strike  a  greater  mar¬ 
vel.  This  mental  friction  has  kindled  a  fire  which  sets  the  heart  aglow. 
Though  a  man  should  think  in  ice,  yet  science  tells  us  there  is  latent  heat 
in  the  cold  icicle  hanging  from  the  eaves  of  a  house  ;  and  all  history  tes¬ 
tifies  to  the  reserved  power  which  lies  in  those  silent  men  of  thought,  who 
at  length  burst  from  their  quietude  and  like  pyramids  of  fire  set  the  world 
ablaze  with  their  energy. 

This  leads  me  at  once  to  the  greatest  mystery  of  the  whole — all  this 
thought  and  emotion  flowing,  through  a  decision  or  choice  of  the  will,  into 
some  external  action  which  stands  before  the  eye  the  embodiment  and 


346 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22, 


representative  of  both.  What  mean  these  mute,  vet  expressive  gestures 
of  the  body,  if  they  be  not  the  natural  signs  for  the  interpretation  of 
thought  ?  And  this  wonderful  endowment  of  human  speech  by  which 
through  arbitrary  and  conventional  sounds,  we  give^’bodily  form  and  shape 
to  our  thoughts  and  desires — what  is  the  significance  of  it,  except  that 
God  did  not  mean  thought  to  be  always  silent?  Man  was  intended  for  ^ 
action  ;  and  hence  this  mysterious  necessity  to  translate  what  is  within  ; 
this  strange  compulsion  in  man  to  produce  himself  out  of  himself — visibly 
represented  to  his  own  eye,  and  to  the  eye  of  others,  in  that  which  is  the 
concrete  embodiment  of  thought,  passion,  desire  and  will.  ' 

3.  The  proof  of  man’s  essential  activity  is  almost  complete,  when  you 
observe  him  placed  in  the  bosom  of  a  thousand  relations.  Constituted  for 
action,  as  we  have  already  seen,  we  discover  the  sphere  in  which  this 
activity  must  be  displayed.  He  is  not  placed  upon  an  insulated  stool  with 
glass  feet,  to  sever  all  connection  with  the  earth  upon  which  he  stands.  On 
the  contrary,  innumerable  threadlike  ties  bind  him  to  the  race  of  which  he 
forms  a  part ;  and  in  working  out  the  problem  of  human  history,  each 
must  be  an  integer  in  the  equation — a  unit  in  the  vast  total,  without  which 
it  could  not  be  reached.  Man,  as  he  moves,  touches  the  secret  wires  which 
run  through  life  in  every  direction,  and  gather  to  their  centre  at  the  throne 
ol  God. 

What  are  we  obliged  to  infer  from  these  adaptations  of  man  to  his  place 
in  the  social  sphere  ?  Born  in  a  nest  of  relationships,  he  abides  in  them 
until  death ;  nay,  he  multiplies  them  by  his  own  choice,  or  else  under  the 
pressure  of  his  surroundings,  as  they  change  from  day  to  day.  Yet,  he  is 
fitted  by  nature  to  fill  these  varied  relations,  just  as  clearly  as  the  bird  is 
fitted  for  the  element  in  which  it  soars,  or  the  fish  for  that  in  which  it 
swims.  Created  by  his  Maker  a  free  spirit,  action  is  the  necessity  of  his 
being ;  and  therefore  every  faculty  tends  to  express  itself  in  outward  form. 
Thought  glides  into  feeling — feeling  concretes  into  the  visible  and  repre-  < 
sentative  act — and  the  being  who  is  under  this  law  of  development,  finds 
himself  in  the  associations  which  stimulate  these  tendencies,  and  draw 
them  out  in  their  manifestations.  If  the  proof  of  design  is  not  apparent 
here,  then  it  cannot  be  inferred  from  any  of  the  marvellous  adjustments  in 
the  natural  world.  The  being  who  finds  himself  in  a  net-work  of  relation, 
ships,  through  which  he  has  the  power  to  move,  is  shown  by  his  fitness  to 
the  place  that  he  was  intended  to  fill  it  with  all  the  activity  which  belongs 
to  his  nature. 

4.  The  culmination  of  proof  on  this  point,  is  found  in  the  sense  of  per¬ 
sonal  responsibility  in  man  to  the  justice  and  law  of  God.  Would  that  I 


1877.] 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


347 

had  the  power  to  represent  the  majesty,  and  yet  the  practicalness,  of  this 
suggestion  !  Consider  it  well,  and  what  can  be  more  solemn  than  the  neces¬ 
sity  which  is  upon  us  to  think  ?  And  then,  the  equal  necessity  which  is 
upon  us  to  feel  ?  And  then,  the  logical  compulsion  upon  us  to  act  ?  All 
three  moving  in  their  respective  spheres  with  the  silent  and  resistless  energy 
which  characterizes  all  the  operations  of  nature.  The  earth  makes  no 
noise,  whilst  it  spins  upon  its  axle,  nor  yet  when  it  sweeps  in  a  grander 
orbit  around  the  sun ;  yet  all  the  planets  yield  unresistingly  to  that  power 
of  attraction  which  God  has  made  the  law  to  every  particle  of  matter 
throughout  the  universe.  So  man,  in  obedience  to  that  law  of  connexion 
established  between  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  is  evermore  passing  through 
the  process  by  which  thought  and  emotion  crystallize  into  acts,  which 
make  up  the  history  of  his  life.  Whether  he  reck  of  it  or  no — to  borrow 
a  conceit  from  the  ancient  Schoolmen,  the  soul  is  perpetually  throwing  oft' 
the  shadowy  forms  of  itself.  Thoughts,  affections,  activities — taking  em¬ 
bodiment  and  shape  in  the  words  we  breathe,  in  the  desires  we  feel,  in  the 
deeds  we  perform — all  bearing  a  shadowy  resemblance  to  the  nature  from 
which  they  spring,  going  up  before  us  to  the  solemn  judgment,  and  stand¬ 
ing  there  the  silent  witnesses  of  what  we  have  been,  and  of  what  we  are  ! 

Great  God,  can  it  be  true  ?  These  images  of  ourselves,  produced  out  of 
ourselves,  shall  they  confront  us  there  ?  Shall  these  mysterious  shadows  of 
our  own  life  be  cast  upon  the  curtain  of  the  Judgment  ?  Shall  our  very 
thoughts  take  shape  before  us,  to  tell  the  universe  exactly  what  we  are? 
No  wonder  that  under  this  self-revelation  before  the  Omniscient  Judge, 
“  every  mouth  shall  be  stopped  and  all  the  world  become  guilty  before  God.  ” 
(Rom.  iii :  19.)  Ah,  my  hearers,  what  shall  we  do  in  that  day  of  expo¬ 
sure,  if  there  be  not  a  covering  for  our  guilt  ?  How  shall  we  endure  the 
confusion  and  the  grief,  if  there  be  no  “Days-man”  to  throw  the  mantle 
of  His  righteousness  over  our  shame,  and  hide  it  from  sight  forever  ? 

II.  Perhaps  it  has  not  been  necessary  to  submit  these  proofs  of  the 
essential  activity  of  mans  nature.  Yet  what  is  admitted  without  hesitation 
may  profitably  be  held  under  arrest,  if  only  to  deepen  the  conviction  of  the 
truth.  I  wish  now  te  show  how  the  gospel  addresses  itself  to  his 

ACTIVITY,  IN  THE  OBEDIENCE  WHICH  IT  EXACTS  OF  THE  WILL.  This, 
you  perceive,  completes  the  circuit,  and  puts  Christianity  in  direct  con¬ 
nexion  with  every  department  of  the  soul.  We  have  Truth  informing  the 
reason,  Justice  directing  the  conscience,  Love  actuating  the  heart,  and 
finally  Obedience  expressing  the  energy  of  the  will.  Viewed  from  these 
four  points  of  the  compass,  man  will  be  recognized  as  capable  at  once  of 
knowledge,  of  duty,  of  desire,  and  of  action. 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22, 


348 

1.  This  may  he  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  Gospel  speaks  so 
directly  to  the  understanding  and  the  heart.  This  consideration  is  simply 
initial,  and  gives  the  advantage  of  starting  from  the  lowest  plane.  Upon 
the  supposition  that  no  command  can  be  found  in  the  Scriptures  laying  its 
authority  upon  the  will,  still  the  voice  which  speaks  to  the  other  powers 
speaks  of  necessity  to  this.  T  could  not  be  asked  to  stoop  to  an  admission 
•lower  than  this ;  and  yet  with  this  conceded,  it  is  clear  how  the  Gospel 
lays  its  hand  upon  all  the  active  powers  in  man.  All  those  immense  propo¬ 
sitions  respecting  God,  eternity,  and  the  soul,  coming  by  direct  revelation 
from  heaven,  arouse  and  feed  the  intellect  until  man  lifts  his  head  above 
the  stars,  and  holds  communion  with  the  angels  in  glory.  Throughout  the 
ages,  too,  in  the  great  Hereafter,  this  truth  will  expand  before  us  in  the 
disclosures  to  be  made  of  Jehovah  in  the  splendor  of  His  majesty,  and  in 
the  tenderness  of  His  love.  Just  so  far  then  does  the  Gospel  provide, 
both  here  and  hereafter,  for  all  the  activity  into  which  this  knowledge  will 
at  length  transmute  itself.  In  like  manner,  the  affections  of  the  heart  are 
stirred,  when  the  Divine  holiness  is  seen  embosomed  in  grace — as  the  cloud 
which  tempers  its  brightness  to  the  human  gaze.  God  is  revealed  to  us  in 
the  tender  relations  of  His  covenant  as  the  Father  and  portion  of  His 
people,  and  we  are  taijght  to  “love  Him  who  first  loved  us,”  I  John 
iv:  19.) 

If  then  the  Gospel  did  nothing  more  than  to  excite  the  affections  by 
presenting  an  object  infinitely  worthy  of  their  embrace,  these  affections 
tend,  as  I  have  shown,  to  express  themselves  in  outward  acts — revealing- 
man’s  nature  on  its  active  side,  as  distinctly  as  on  its  intellectual,  or  its 
emotional.  The  three  are  so  bound  together  that,  without  any  special 
injunction  of  obedience,  it  would  be  implied  in  all  that  the  Gospel  reveals 
either  to  the  understanding  or  the  heart. 

2.  The  practical  faith  lohich  the  Gospel  demands,  appeals  directly  to 
the  human  will.  It  cannot  be  necessary  to  remind  you  how  this  call  to 
immediate  faith  in  the  Redeemer  sounds  from  every  page  of  the  sacred 
word.  The  one,  simple  direction  to  every  sinner,  is  “believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house.”  (Acts  xvi:  31.) 
Under  every  form  of  language,  it  is  urged  upon  the  sinner  as  the  one  thing 
to  be  done.  Even  the  Old  Testament  economy,  when  we  have  the  key  to 
unlock  the  meaning  of  its  types  and  shadows,  points  through  them  all  to 
that  faith  in  Christ  which  is  more  definitely  expounded  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  “Before  faith  came,”  says  the  Apostle,  “we  were  kept  under  the 
law,  shut  up  unto  the  faith  which  should  afterwards  be  revealed  ;  wherefore 


1877.] 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


349 


the  law  was  our  school-master  to  bring  us  unto  Christ,  that  we  might  be 
justified  by  faith.”  (Gal.  iii:  23,  24.)  In  truth,  as  may  be  seen  from 
the  tenor  of  Paul’s  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  all  the  institutions  of  Moses 
served  for  the  construction  of  a  language,*  in  which  the  doctrines  of 
redemption  by  sacrifice,  and  of  sanctification  by  the  Holy  Ghost  might  be 
revealed  to  the  faith  of  the  Church. 

But  this  faith  by  which  the  sinner  is  justified  and  saved,  is  the  obedi¬ 
ence  of  the  will  to  the  great  command  of  the  Gospel,  and  draws  upon  the 
whole  activity  of  our  nature.  It  is  more  than  belief,  or  the  mere  assent 
*  of  the  mind  to  certain  verbal  propositions.  It  involves  equally  the  affec¬ 
tions  of  the  heart  and  the  determinations  of  the  will,  in  the  exercise  of 
that  trust  which  is  really  its  essence.  “  What  doth  hinder  me  to  be  bap¬ 
tized  ?  ”  asks  the  Eunuch  :  “  if  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart,  thou 
mayest  ” — is  the  reply  of  Philip.  (Acts  viii:  36,  37.)  Hear  too  the 
explicit  testimony  of  Paul  :  “  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  Him 
from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved.  For  with  the  heart  man  believeth 
unto  righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation.” 
(Rom.  x:  9,  10.)  It  is  under  the  force  of  these  and  similar  testimonies, 
that  our  Standards  define  saving  faith  both  as  a  grace  and  an  act :  a  grace, 
as  the  principle  is  implanted  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  new  birth ;  (Eph. 
ii:  8,)  an  act,  as  it  is  performed  in  the  use  of  our  rational  faculties.  (John 
i:  12.)  The  Shorter  Catechism  gives  this  answer  to  the  86th  question  : 

faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is  a  saving  grace,  whereby  we  receive  and  rest  upon 
Him  alone  for  salvation,  as  He  is  offered  to  us  in  the  Gospel.”  True  faith 
then,  under  any  definition  of  it,  includes  that  operation  of  the  will  in 
%  which  obedience  is  yielded  to  the  claims  of  God  as  our  redeemer,  and  to 
all  the  conditions  upon  which  our  salvation  is  suspended.  In  its  funda¬ 
mental  requisition,  therefore,  the  Gospel  draws  upon  the  whole  nature  of 
«  man,  as  a  being  of  action. 

I  cannot  dismiss  this  topic  without  recalling  to  your  attention  a  thought, 
not  sufficiently  enlarged  upon  in  the  discourse  of  last  Sabbath.  I  refer  to 
the  wonderful  philosophy  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  urgency  with  which  it 
presses  upon  the  sinner  the  duty  of  immediate  faith  in  the  Redeemer. 
There  is  not  a  verse  in  the  Bible  which  turns  the  inquirer  back,  to  ascertain 
whether  his  convictions  are  sufficient  to  warrant  his  coming  to  Christ. 

*3ee  this  admirably  discussed  in  a  work  entitled  “  Philosophy  of  the  plan  of 
Salvation.” 


350 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22, 


This  would  be  to  throw  the  creature  into  the  maelstrom  of  his  emotions, 
whirling  in  the  fatal  vortex  by  which  he  is  sucked  down  at  last  and  dis¬ 
appears  in  the  gloomy  depths.  The  Holy  Spirit  knows  too  well  that  no 
surer  method  can  be  devised  to  destroy  feeling,  than  the  direct  effort  to 
create  it — that  the  subtle  essence  evaporates  in  the  manipulation  of  it — 
and  that  it  must  be  allowed  to  rush  without  stoppage  to  the  concrete  act 
in  which  it  culminates.  Hence  the  holy  impatience  with  which,  in  the  ^ 
Scriptures,  man  is  hurried  forward  to  the  act  of  faith,  in  which  ail  pious 
thought  and  feeling  are  embodied  at  last.  The  Holy  Ghost,  to  whom  is 
assigned  the  office  of  applying  the  gospel  to  the  heart,  will  not  contravene  ^ 
the  laws  of  man’s  rational  nature.  He  puts  Himself  in  accord  with  them ; 
and  works,  with  His  omnipotent  power,  through  them  all.  He  enlightens 
the  mind,  and  rouses  the  conscience,  and  stirs  the  heart,  and  subdues  the 
will ;  and  then  produces  all  to  the  view,  in  the  acts  of  obedience  which 
this  will  renders  to  the  commands  of  grace.  It  is  by  the  reaction  of  all 
this  upon  the  heart,  that  its  affections  are  kindled  to  a  warmer  glow — 
which  again  seek  expression  in  the  outward  life  ;  and  so  by  the  action  and 
reaction,  the  warmth  of  spiritual  life  is  kept  equal  at  the  heart  and  at  the 
extremities. 

3.  In  this  connexion,  observe  that  faith  must  not  only  be  exercised— 
hut  Christ  must  also  he  openly  confessed  before  the  world.  “  Confession 
with  the  mouth  ”  is,  by  the  Apostle,  closely  conjoined  with  “  belief  in  the 
heart.”  (Rom.  x:  9.)  Yet  there  are  not  a  few  who  seek  to  evade  the 
obligation  to  unite  with  the  Redeemer’s  Church  upon  earth.  The  reason¬ 
ing  by  which  this  neglect  is  defended,  is  specious.  “  Is  not  religion  after 
all  only  a  matter  betwixt  the  conscience  and  God  ?  Is  it  not  enough  to 
repent  of  sin,  and  to  embrace  the  Saviour,  in  the  secrecy  of  my  own  heart?  s 
Why  should  I  be  subjected  to  the  trial  of  changing  front  in  the  presence 
of  the  world,  and  of  running  the  hazard  of  bringing  reproach  upon  the 
Church  by  the  irregularities  into  which  I  may  possibly  fall  ?”  Such  are  ( 
the  opiates  by  which  an  accusing  conscience  is  sometimes  put  to  sleep — 
the  pleas,  by  which  perhaps  many  persuade  themselves  honestly  that  they 
are  free  from  censure. 

The  reply  to  all  this  special  pleading  is  exceedingly  simple.  We  can  afford 
to  set  aside  all  discussion  of  the  question,  in  this,  whether  connexion 
with  the  visible  Church  be  an  indispensable  prerequisite  to  salvation  ?  We 
are  not  required  to  tie  the  infinite  and  sovereign  grace  of  God  to  any 
ritual,  as  the  necessary  condition  of  salvation.  We  may  expect  to  find 
not  a  few  in  heaven,  whose  names  were  never  enrolled  upon  the  register  of 


1877.] 


Oledience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


351 


the  Church  on  earth.  It  is  an  immense  relief  to  be  discharged  from  the 
responsibility  of  deciding  upon  cases  like  these,  by  remitting  them  to  the 
judgment  of  Him  who  alone  has  the  prerogative.  Still  it  remains  true, 
that  Christ  has  constituted  His  Church  an  organized  and  visible  society ; 
and  that  He  has  equipped  her  with  laws  and  officers,  with  ordinances  and 
\  sacraments,  “  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ.”  (Eph.  iv:  12.)  It  is  still  true, 
that  He  has  commanded  every  being  who  accepts  the  salvation  He  has 
f  wrought,  to  make  visible  profession  of  his  faith  by  union  with  this  Church, 
in  which  the  fellowship  of  the  saints  shall  be  constantly  maintained. 
Without  adjudicating  any  of  the  cases  which  God  reserves  for  trial  at  the 
last  day,  we  can  take  our  stand  just  here  ;  and  say,  that  it  is  immensely 
perilous  to  refuse  obedience  to  the  least  of  God’s  commandments.  Whether 
union  with  the  visible  Church  be,  or  be  not,  essential  to  salvation,  it  may 
not  be  safe  for  us  to  pronounce.  But  we  can  say,  that  no  man  can  live  in 
neglect  of  any  duty  which  the  Saviour  enjoins,  even  though  it  should  be 
only  through  a  misapprehension  of  the  judgment,  without  serious  detri¬ 
ment  and  loss  to  the  interests  of  the  soul.  It  must  draw  after  it  the  for¬ 
feiture  of  many  blessings,  which  might  otherwise  have  been  enjoyed.  The 
decision  has  already  been  pronounced,  “  whosoever  therefore  shall  break 
one  of  these  least  commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be 
called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.”  (Mat.  v:  19.) 

Even  though  one  may  work  his  way  safely  along  the  edge  of  the  Church, 
in  no  way  distinguished  from  the  world,  it  must  always  be  with  a  sense  of 
degradation  under  the  meanness  and  cowardice  which  it  involves ;  it  must 
^  always  be  with  a  sense  of  peril,  from  which  in  the  nature  of  things  it  is 
impossible  to  be  wholly  divested ;  and  it  must  be  also  with  the  sad  forfei¬ 
ture  of  many  comforts  and  joys,  which  is  not  deplored  simply  from  ignor¬ 
ance  of  what  really  has  been  lost.  See  then  how  the  Gospel  lays  hold 
upon  the  active  principle  of  our  nature,  in  its  requisition  first  upon  the 
exercise,  and  then  upon  the  profession,  of  our  faith  in  Christ. 

4.  This  line  of  proof  is  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that  ever^  Christian 
is  required  to  partake  of  the  corporate  life  of  the  Church,  and  to  assume 
his  portion  of  the  common  labor  and  *toil.  Beyond  a  doubt,  God  could 
dispense  with  all  the  work  and  anguish  which  He  lays  upon  the  Church 
in  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  He  could,  in  the  flash  of  an  instant, 
convert  the  whole  human  race  and  not  leave  a  single  rebel  against  His 
grace.  The  Holy  Spirit,  who  had  the  key  to  your  heart  and  to  mine, 
could  as  easily  open  the  door  of  every  other  heart  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.  But  God'  has  chosen  to  lay  upon  His  Church,  this  duty  of  pro- 


4 


352 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22, 


claiming  the  Gospel  by  which  the  nations  shall  be  saved ;  and  the  burden 
which  is  laid  collectively  upon  the  whole  body,  is  laid  distributively  upon 
each  component  part  of  that  body. 

Remembering  now  that  “  every  beast  of  the  forest  is  His  and  the  cattlt 
upon  a  thousand  hills,”  one  cannot  cease  to  wonder  that  God  should  leave 
His  Church  to  experience  so  much  anguish  in  the  propagation  of  the 
truth.  What  an  expenditure  of  effort,  to  raise  the  sum  which  is  necessary 
to  support  a  few  missionaries  upon  heathen  soil !  How  difficult  to  keep 
alive  the  feeble  organizations  in  the  scattered  hamlets  of  our  own  land  ! 
What  sacrifices  are  imposed  upon  the  heralds  of  the  Cross,  in  the  poverty 
and  self-denial  with  which  they  proclaim  “  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  ” 
to  sinful  men  !  It  seems  one  of  the  deep  mysteries  of  Divine  Providence, 
that  all  this  should  be  entailed  upon  those  who  are  engaged  in  His  work 
who  could  so  easily  relieve  the  pressure ;  until  we  recall  the  fact  that  the 
discipline  which  is  laid  upon  the  individual  believer,  is  needful  also  to  the 
collective  Church.  One  conclusion  is  certainly  established — that,  in  all 
this  work  of  toil  and  sacrifice  in  which  the  Church  engages  each  of  her 
members,  there  is  a  clear  recognition  of  that  active  principle  in  our  nature, 
upon  the  constant  exercise  of  which  our  spiritual  health,  no  less  than  our 
natural,  so  much  depends. 

5*  Passing  from  these  four  connected  points,  let  it  be  noted  that  the  Gospel 
does  not  dispense  with  any  of  the  relations  in  human  society.  It  takes  the 
sinner  just  where  Providence  has  assigned  his  lot,  and  makes  him  “a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus.”  It  sanctifies  all  the  relations  in  which  he  is 
embosomed,  and  converts  them  into  means  of  grace.  Ancient  Sparta,  you 
remember,  destroyed  the  family  that  the  State  might  be  supreme.  The 
youth  were  removed  from  parental  care  and  control,  given  over  to  the 
public  nurse  and  the  public  school-master,  to  be  trained  not  for  the  home, 
but  for  the  State.  And  it  is  the  vice  of  many  of  the  systems  of  modern 
reform,  that  they  sweep  across  the  web  of  natural  associations  in  accom¬ 
plishing  their  benevolent  designs — and  fail  at  last,  because  they  cannot 
succeed  in  this  disintegration  of  society.  Christianity,  on  the  contrary, 
comes  down  into  the  world,  not  as  a  law,  but  as  a  life.  Conscious  of  its 
power,  it  seizes  man  in  the  midst  of  all  the  duties  which  he  owes  to  his 
home,  to  the  commuity,  to  the  State,  to  the  world.  It  does  not  relax  any 
of  these  claims ;  but  under  their  united  pressure,  it  consecrates  him  to  a 
new  service  superior  to  them  all.  Thus  does  the  Gospel  in  its  refusal  to 
blot  out  any  of  our  natural  ties,  respect  the  active  feature  in  man’s  nature. 
It  saves  him  in  the  heat  of  his  action  ;  and  then  puts  him  down  in  the 
sphere  to  which  he  naturally  belongs,  to  be  a  witness  to  those  who  know 
him  best  of  the  power  and  sweetness  of  Divine  grace. 


1877.] 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


353 


6.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  discipline^  thi'ougli  lohich  we  are 
sanctified,  falls  upon  us  exactly  in  the  sphere  of  our  earthly  activities.  It 
is  not  required  of  me  to  speak,  just  here,  of  the  necessity  for  all  this  dis¬ 
cipline.  You  recognize  it  as  the  key  which  unlocks  the  great  mystery  of 
human  life,  and  without  which  human  history  would  be  a  riddle.  But 
^  every  problem  opens  to  us  under  this  statement,  “  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
He  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  He  receiveth.”  (Heb.  xii : 
6.)  Our  probation,  which  originally  was  one  of  law,  is  now  through  the 
I  intervention  of  grace  a  probation  of  mercy.  The  virtues  implanted  in 
the  heart  by  the  Spirit,  are  by  this  discipline  reduced  to  practice,  and  form 
the  character  suited  to  the  unchanging  life  beyond  the  grave.  You  recol¬ 
lect  that  exquisite  hymn  of  John  Newton,  in  which  the  fulness  of  reli¬ 
gious  experience,  atones  for  the  lack  of  poetic  merit ; 

“  I  asked  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow 
In  faith  and  love  and  every  grace  ; 

Might  more  of  his  salvation  know, 

And  seek  more  earnestly  His  face. 

’Twas  He  that  taught  me  thus  to  pray, 

And  He,  I  trust,  has  answered  prayer ; 

But  it^has  been  in  such  a  way, 

As  almost  drove  me  to  despair. 

I  hojped  that  in  some  favored  hour, 

At  once  He’d  answer  my  request ; 

And  by  His  love’s  constraining  power. 

Subdue  my  sins  and  give  me  rest.” 

Ah  !  This  is  the  way  in  which  we  would  like  the  work  of  sanctifica¬ 
tion  to  be  advanced,  by  the  sweet  influx  of  Grod’s  grace  into  the  hearty 
without  the  need  of  any  conflict,  or  any  sorrow  ! 

*  “  Instead  of  this  he  made  me  feel 

The  hidden  evils  of  my  heart, 

And  let  the  angry  powers  of  hell 
Assault  my  soul  in  every  part. 

Yea,  more  :  with  His  own  hand  He  seemed 
Intent  to  aggravate  my  woe ; 

Crossed  all  the  fair  designs  I  schemed, 

Blasted  my  gourds,  and  laid  me  low. 

Lord,  why  is  this  ?  I  trembling  cried, 

Wilt  thou  pursue  thy  worm  to  death  ? 

’Tis  in  tliis  way,  the  Lord  replied, 

1  answer  prayer  for  grace  and  faith. 


354 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22, 


These  inward  trials  I  employ, 

From  self  and  pride  to  set  thee  free, 

And  break  thy  schemes  of  earthly  joy. 

That  thou  mayest  seek  thine  all  in  me.” 

How  rich  the  display  of  wisdom  and  love,  which  brings  into  harmony 
the  inward  and  the  outward  in  every  Christian’s  experience — the  inward 
grace,  and  the  outward  discipline  which  cultivates  it  into  practical  virtue! 
Just  as  the  potter,  who  moulds  the  clay  upon  his  wheel  into  the  shape 
lie  desires,  and  then  builds  the  furnace,  filling  its  womb  with  the  blazing 
fire,  into  the  heart  of  whose  flame  he  places  the  vessel  which  he  means  to 
harden  for  serviceable  use  :  so  Grod  casts  you  and  me  into  the  furnace  of 
affliction,  heated  seven  times  hot,  and  brings  us  out  without  the  smell  of 
fire  upon  our  garments. 

The  general  exposition  of  this  truth,  is  not,  however,  what  I  now  pro¬ 
pose  to  your  consideration.  It  is  rather  the  fact,  that  this  painful  discip¬ 
line  overtakes  us  in  the  midst  of  the  duties  and  activities  of  life.  Here, 
for  example,  is  one  of  yourselves  toiling  through  a  lifetime  to  build  a  for¬ 
tune,  which  will  fill  your  old  age  with  plenty  ;  and  suddenly  the  whole 
tumbles  down  upon  your  head,  overwhelming  you  with  bankruptcy  and 
ruin.  Whatever  may  be  the  special  lesson  Grod  has  in  this  for  you,  others 
cannot  look  upon  you  driven  back  to  work,  when  the  elasticity  and 
strength  of  youth  have  fled,  without  a  profound  conviction  that  life  is 
meant  to  be  one  of  toil  even  to  the  end. 

In  like  manner,  with  our  sorrows  ;  Grod  calls  us  to  those  tender  offices  of 
fflve  around  the  beds  of  the  sick.  The  mournful  ministry  is  drawn  out 
through  weeks  and  month  and  years,  during  which,  with  a  sweeter  sym¬ 
pathy  and  a  deeper  affection,  we  fold  the  sufferers  in  our  arms.  Will  this 
suffice  ?  Ah,  no  1  the  heart  must  gather  itself  up  for  the  last  great  sacri¬ 
fice  of  love,  when  it  bows  before  the  altar  and  says,  “  The  Lord  gave, 
and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.”  (Job.  i : 
21.)  Why  is  it,  that  these  bereavements  fall  upon  us  just  as  we  have 
made  the  largest  investment  of  affection  ?  Simply,  because  the  discipline 
would  not  reach  us,  if  it  did  not  touch  the  point  that  was  the  most  tender, 
and  where  the  sensibilities  are  the  keenest.  But  this  is  only  another 
illustration  of  the  way  in  which  the  Grospel  recognizes  the  activity  of  our 
nature,  and  says  :  “  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiv¬ 
ing  your  own  selves.” 

7.  In  the  last  place,  see  the  provision  fo7' all  the  activity  of  mans 
nature — in  the  great  duty  of  loorship.  God  gives  us  His  truth,  which  in 
<[uiet  meditation,  we  revolve  and  inwardly  digest,  assimilating  it  to  the 


1877.] 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


355 


mind,  so  that  it  grows  in  stature  almost  equal  to  that  of  an  angel.  Then 
God  reveals  to  the  heart  all  that  is  beautiful  and  lovely  in  the  person  of 
His  incarnate  Son,  drawing  out  our  affections  until  we  exclaim  in  the 
trustfulness  of  faith,  “  My  Lord,  and  my  God  !  ”  Is  this  enough  ?  No  : 
We  must  fall  into  rank  with  the  whole  “sacramental  host  of  God’s  elect,” 
and  under  the  banner  of  the  Church,  subdue  the  nations  by  the  truth,  until 
all  “  the  Kingdoms  of  this  world,  shall  become  the  Kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  of  His  Christ.”  Will  this  answer  ?  No  :  this  overflowing  energy  of 
the  sanctified  heart  must  be  gathered  in  from  this  wide  diffusion,  and 
pour  itself  forth  in  solemn  and  adoring  worship,  before  “  Him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb.” 

We  worship,  whilst  we  live — we  worship  with  that  sublimest  of  all  trust, 
when  at  death  we  convey  the  soul  with  the  last  breath  to  Him  that  redeemed 
it — and  then  we  pass  through  the  open  gates  and  lay  our  worship,  with 
that  of  angels  and  Cherubim  in  the  censer  of  our  High  Priest  above,  that 
He  may  waive  it  forever  before  the  throne  of  His  Father  in  glory.  Surely, 
a  being,  who  has  such  capacity  for  worship  here  on  earth,  and  such  a  lifle 
of  worship  lengthening  through  the  eternity  to  come,  cannot  deny  that 
God  has  created  him  for  action,  and  has  made  ample  provision  for  its  exer¬ 
cise  in  the  gospel  of  His  grace. 

What,  my  hearers,  shall  I  say  in  the  conclusion  of  this  discourse  ?  Will 
you  tell  me  what  I  ought  to  say  ?  Well  this ;  I  do  not  know  the  length 
of  your  line,  how  far  it  reaches  into  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  our 
Lord  :  but  be  that  knowledge  little  or  much,  express  it  in  your  life. 
Whether  you  have  scaled  the  heights  of  Christian  experience,  and  from  the 
Delectable  mountains  can  descry  the  towers  of  the  distant  city — or  whether 
you  be  struggling  at  the  base  beneath — whatever  the  measure  of  your  hope 
and  love  and  joy,  I  ask  for  the  production  of  it  in  the  sphere  of  action. 
Come  out  from  your  self.  There  is  a  monkery  amongst  Protestants,  as  bad 
as  that  amongst  the  devotees  of  Rome.  It  is  when  a  Christian  locks  him¬ 
self  up  in  the  solitude  of  his  own  thought,  in  the  exclusiveness  of  his  own 
experience — when  he  ties  his  hand  to  his  side,  and  gives  it  to  no  form  of 
productive  labor.  Look  at  that  Stylite  of  the  ancient  monasticism,  upon 
his  pillar  of  stone,  with  arm  stretched  up  to  heaven  until  it  has  withered  to 
its  socket.  Wherein  are  you  better  than  he,  if  in  this  day  of  Christian 
eflort  you  lie  a  drone  in  the  Christian  hive,  and  bear  no  fruit  of  honest 
Christian  toil  to  the  Master’s  feet?  Here  are  we  in  this  great  city,  with 
thousands  around  us  profaning  God’s  name,  and  desecrating  His  Sabbath — 
what  are  you  and  I  doing  in  the  way  of  testimony  against  this  abounding 


356 


Obedience,  the  Law  of  the  Will. 


[April  22 


iniquity,  or  in  the  way  of  effort  to  bring  sinners  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  ?  Lift  up  your  voice  in  the  service  of  Grod  !  I  bind  you  to  it,  by  the 
nature  God  has  given  you  as  creatures  of  action.  I  bind  you  to  it,  by  the 
genius  of  Christianity  which  opens  a  sphere  for  your  holiest  energies.  I 
bind  you  to  it,  by  the  faith  you  have  professed  in  Christ,  your  Redeemer. 
I  bind  you  to  it,  by  the  sacremental  emblems  through  which  you  have 
recorded  your  vows — by  the  red  wine  which  symbolizes  the  blood  shed  for 
the  remission  of  sin — by  the  bread  broken  to  represent  the  bruising  of  Him 
who  died  under  avenging  law  to  pay  our  debt  to  justice.  Ry  all  these 
tokens  of  God’s  love  to  you  and  of  your  obligation  to  serve  Him,  come 
with  a  contrite  heart  and  take  the  Lord’s  cross  upon  your  shoulder,  and  the 
Lord’s  testimony  upon  your  tongue.  Fasten  yourselves  to  the  chariot  of 
your  King,  as  he  rides  forth  gloriously  to  victory.  Then  shall  it  be  yours 
to  receive  the  crown  of  life,  with  the  benediction  of  the  Judge,”  well  done 
good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.” 


